Arram Draper is on the path to becoming one of the realm’s most powerful mages. The youngest student in his class at the Imperial University of Carthak, he has a Gift with unlimited potential for greatness – and for attracting trouble. At his side are his two best friends: Varice, a clever girl with an often-overlooked talent, and Ozorne, the ‘leftover’ prince’ with secret ambitions.

Together, these friends forge a bond that will one day shape kingdoms. But as Ozorne gets closer to the throne and Varice gets closer to Arram’s heart, Arram realises that soon he will have to decide where his loyalties truly lie.

This book was either going to be amazing or amazingly crap. Mostly because it is dealing with the backstory of one of my favourite characters in this series. That, and it is a bit of a departure from Pierce’s normal stories – it features a male protagonist going through his coming of age story, instead of a female. But, all in all, I was MADLY IN LOVE with this tale. I read it in 2 days… it would have been one, but my partner told me that I had to sleep…

The first in this trilogy follows Arram Draper as he begins to learn of his powers and make two incredibly powerful friendships. I found one of these friendships a little difficult since I know that the child eventually turns into a horrible man. Yet, the foundations for this are already there. Along with the reasons why the two became friends in the first place. It’s a great reminder that not only is Tamora Pierce GREAT at characterisation, she’s also fantastic in revealing that there is a reason for every character’s decisions. Although Ozorne makes some truly horrible ones, in the beginning they don’t necessarily come from horrible places. Just places of fear, spoiltness and an inability to be understood and loved by others.

Although I love the person that Arram eventually ends up with, his relationship with Varice is quite cute. It is the epitome of young love and shows how two young people growing up next to each other an change and still accept one another. Which, honestly is what I think love is – accepting the change in another person and seeing them for who they truly are, not who you want them to be. It’ll be interesting to see how this relationship develops in the rest of the series. Now it’s just a long wait for the next story…